


Extra Hands

by doop_doop



Category: Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Caretaking, Established Relationship, Hair Braiding, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 08:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19720075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doop_doop/pseuds/doop_doop
Summary: When Lucius is injured, Raven has to take care of him in a way he never has before.





	Extra Hands

“There’s one last thing I need you to do for me,” Lucius said. His voice was quiet, and by the light of the fire Raven could see he looked very, very tired. 

Raven couldn’t blame him for that; it had been a  _ long _ day. The bandits they’d been paid to drive off had given them more trouble than expected. They’d finished the job, but it had been rough. Lucius bore the brunt of the injuries, the worst being the burns on his hands from the bandit group’s single magic user. A healer could fix Lucius’s wounds easily, but they were still most of a day’s walk from the nearest town. Although Raven had bandaged Lucius’s wounds the best he could - he was not yet used to doing things gently, and it took him a long time - Raven could still tell they pained him. So they’d set a slow pace the rest of the day and, still several hours from the town, they’d made their camp, intending to set off as early as possible the next day instead.

Raven didn’t mind taking care of everything. In fact, he found himself relishing the opportunity to earn Lucius’s gratitude. In addition to bandaging the wound, he’d helped Lucius change his clothing, had started the fire and cooked the food and had even fed Lucius his entire dinner, spoonful by careful spoonful. To be able to do things to help - even if it could not directly ease Lucius’s pain - gave Raven a strange sort of energy. 

Now Raven watched the strange play of emotions on Lucius’s face - weariness, nerves, pain - and waited to see what this last final task was.

“You know how I usually braid my hair before I sleep?”

Raven had seen Lucius do it hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, and always marvelled at how effortless he made it seem - starting the motion at the back, then pulling the braid around and continuing over one shoulder. It was as intricate and foreign an art as magic to Raven. “Yes,” he said, nervous now.

“Could you please braid my hair for me? I don’t think I can like this.”

Raven felt his stomach drop. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“That’s fine!” Lucius said quickly, as if he’d anticipated the words. “I can tell you exactly what to do. I can teach you without even needing to use my hands.”

“Can’t you sleep with your hair tied back as you have it sometimes when you fight? I could do that for you easily.”

“No, it will tangle. That is why I cannot have it down either. Please?”

Raven got to his feet, his voice coming out gruffer than he intended. “Don’t complain if I make such a mess of your hair you can never untangle it.”

“I have faith in you.” From anyone else Raven would think it sarcasm, but Lucius was so rarely sarcastic with him Raven knew it was not. He shifted so his back was to the fire. “Sit behind me.”

As he sat, Raven could not help stroking the back of Lucius’s neck, between collar and hairline. The skin here was so soft, the hairs so fine; Raven knew his hands were rough and callused and probably unpleasant against such delicate skin, but Lucius let out a small pleased noise at the contact.

“Do as I say. Don’t worry,” Lucius said, and from somewhere he took out a string, handing it to Raven. 

“I’m not worried, I’m just…” 

“I appreciate you helping me, Raymond.” 

It almost made Raven mad, the audible gratitude in his voice. Lucius  _ was _ grateful, he  _ did _ appreciate it, but Raven wished he would just take it for granted - that Lucius would trust him so much that this sort of assistance would not even be worth thanking him for. As if the thought of Raven not taking care of him could not even enter his mind.

“Set the string down for now, and take all of my hair in your hands,” Lucius said, the words cutting sharply through Raven’s thoughts. “Hold it loosely, at the base of my neck.”

“Alright.”

“Divide it into three parts, as equal as you can make them.”

Raven tried, but one section was almost as large as the other two combined. He tried again. It was  _ roughly  _ equal, he thought - but how equal was equal enough for this purpose? Was it enough to do his best to eye it? Was there some better way to tell, to measure?

“It’s fine if they’re not exactly the same size,” Lucius said, and Raven had to hold back his sigh of frustration - he was pathetically easy to read.

“What’s next?”

There was a pause, and Raven got the sense that Lucius was visualizing it in his head, trying to find the words for the motions he’d performed thoughtlessly a thousand times. “Take the rightmost section and bring it over the middle section, so it is now the middle section and the previous middle section is now the rightmost section.”

_ That sounds like nonsense,  _ Raven wanted to say, but he held his tongue and tried to obey the instructions. The rightmost section over the middle… but there were three sections, and he only had two hands-

He found he could let go of the left section and let it hang loosely. “Alright,” he said, hoping he was doing this right. “Does… does it hurt? Does it feel right?”

“It feels loose. Could you pull it tighter?”

Raven’s throat constricted, but he pulled the sections tighter, hoping he wasn’t causing pain. But Lucius said nothing about that, just continued his instructions: “Now take the leftmost section and bring it over the middle section, so it is now the new middle section.”

Raven’s fingers slipped; he dropped the sections and had to begin again, hoping Lucius wouldn't notice but knowing deep down that he would, of  _ course _ he would. But this time it went more smoothly, and although Raven still felt like he didn’t have enough hands, he finally caught up to where he’d been before. He tried not to look at just how much hair Lucius had, and how long it would take to reach the end of it.

“Yeah?” Raven said. “Now what?”

“Now take the rightmost section and put it over the middle section so it is in the middle.”

Raven did. “Yeah?”

“And put the leftmost section over the middle section. And then the right. And the left. This is all,” Lucius said. “It’s the same motion. Once you get the hang of the motion, that’s all you need to learn.”

Left over the middle - right over the middle- 

“I think I have it,” Raven said. The braid was beginning to look like a braid. A bad one - messy, uneven and loose - but still undeniably a braid.

“Good!” Lucius said, and Raven heard the smile in his voice, the genuine pleased surprise. He didn’t sound as if he were teaching a child a basic skill, but rather that he was genuinely impressed with Raven’s mastery. As if it was something worthy of praise! Raven knew little girls could braid practically as toddlers; it wasn’t as though it was something actually difficult. Under normal circumstances Lucius could braid backwards in his sleep. 

“I don’t deserve your praise,” Raven said, speaking through gritted teeth.

“Are you making progress? Do you think you have it down?”

“Yes…”

“Then I believe you do.”

Lucius held very still as Raven kept going. Eventually Raven had to move backwards to continue, with how long Lucius’s hair was; but finally he was at the end, holding the last several inches of loose hair in one hand like it was the neck of a snake.

“Then simply take the string, wrap it around and tie it off,” Lucius said. “Tie it very tightly, please. I do not want it slipping off in the night and wasting your effort.”

At least Raven knew how to tie a knot, although wrapping it around the hair was harder than he’d expected. When finally he was done he let the braid fall and heaved a sigh of relief.

Lucius reached back around and felt the braid with his fingertips - the barest of touches, running from his nape to the knotted string. Apparently it was good enough, though, because when he was done, he turned around to face Raven, smiling. “Thank you,” he said warmly. 

“Don’t thank me,” Raven said, looking away. “It was…” He’d been about to say  _ nothing, _ but it wasn’t nothing. Lucius had been forced to teach him an entirely new skill just for him to be any help whatsoever. He was more trouble as a companion than he was worth. “It will be easier the next time,” Raven said at last, taking some solace in the idea that, should this ever happen again, he would remember how to braid, and be a bigger help than he’d been tonight.

“Oh, I  _ hope  _ there won’t be a next time,” Lucius said, the tiredness creeping back into his voice. “I’d much rather take care of  _ you, _ you know. That comes more naturally to me than being taken care of.”

“It is strange to see you this way,” Raven agreed. “But I don’t mind it.”

“I can’t stand being such a burden to you.”

“A burden?”

“You had to take care of me - feed me, like I was a child, set up the tent, do all the work around camp…”

“If taking care of you makes you a burden, we’re both a burden to each other all the time.” He must’ve been tired, too; he sounded delirious. “Let’s sleep now, Lucius. The sooner we set out tomorrow, the sooner you can get healed.”

Raven probably didn’t need to, but he spent time fussing over Lucius - arranging his bedding, smoothing down the loose hairs around his face that had already slipped from the braid, gently checking his bandages to make sure they were all still in place. If Lucius minded this kind of attention, he didn’t say it. Raven couldn’t see him, but as he ran his hand lightly down Lucius’s cheek he thought he felt a smile.

But to keep Lucius awake with all this attention would be counterproductive. Raven bent down to place a kiss on his mouth, then found his own bedding in the dark and curled up, shuffling about until he found a rock-free patch to sleep to settle. He stayed up for a little while longer, until the sound of Lucius’s breathing grew deep and even; only then did he let himself drift off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [twitter,](https://twitter.com/doop_doop2) although I mostly post about My Hero Academia. Check me out if you want :)


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